Southeast AsianChina Interactions

AY2014/2015 Semester 1

This course`s main objective is to provide a comprehensive view of the dynamic and long history of interaction between Southeast Asia and China from pre-modern to modern times. Sources examined comprise Chinese texts, indigenous writings including non-contemporary works which discuss the early historical connections of the Southeast Asian kingdoms with China, and, most importantly, archaeological data in the form of Chinese artefacts found on both land sites and shipwrecks. The early stage of Chinese relations with Southeast Asian kingdoms will be illuminated mainly with information from Chinese annals from the Han through the early Song periods, after which archaeological evidence becomes more readily available. Of particular interest to the students will be the recognition that archaeological sites contribute much information not recorded in written sources, demonstrating the usefulness of archaeological data in the discussion of early Southeast Asian relations with China. Students will also get to work with genuine artefacts. They will learn how objects such as Chinese ceramics and coins can be used not only to refine the understanding of Southeast Asia`s trade relations with China, but also to explicate certain questions regarding the material culture of early Southeast Asian societies. In the last third of the course, students will look at issues pertaining to relations between Southeast Asia and China during the 19th and 20th centuries such as Chinese migration and diaspora in the region, the establishment of transnational networks of Chinese social and business institutions, and the roles played by connections and overseas Chinese during the height of Chinese nationalism.